JetBlue Pilot Arrested After Gun Allegedly Found In His Bag During Screening

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — A JetBlue pilot is facing a weapons possession charge after a gun was found in his bag during a screening at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

A criminal complaint says Robert Paulson of Ankeny, Iowa, was going through screening procedures Sept. 8 when the screener saw something metal in the X-ray. A 40-caliber H&K pistol and bullets were found in his bag.

The complaint says Paulson had been in New York for at least the day and was returning to Iowa.

He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance. His next court date is Sept. 19.

A telephone number for Paulson could not be found, and his attorney did not return a call seeking comment. New York-based JetBlue said it’s cooperating with the investigation but isn’t sharing any additional details.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

One thing no one has brought up was he a Federal Flight Deck Officers. These are commercial aircrew that complete TSA/Sky Marshal training and are authorized to carry as part of their job.

Oh, and for someone else that said there are so many Sky Marshals flying every day that we don’t have to worry about arming any air crewmen, only about 3% of the flights in this country carry a Sky Marshal every day.

Obviously this pilot was profiled during the screening process. Besides he is a racist wanting to kill religious practitioners on the jet plane. These types of terroristic acts must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law! (These are the type of arguments being used against law abiding citizens in America and if you find yourself agreeing to this type of reason, you are one sick individual!)

The pilot has a 2nd Amendment Right to carry regardless of what the law states. To be able to distinguish and argue what makes a law Unconstitutional is a responsibility held only by truly Free Americans who cringe at those who suffer from mindless obedience syndrome. Gun laws were created with only one intention, creating an environment where The People would have to rely on government agencies to keep them safe. Criminals & the GOVERNMENT absolutely LOVE gun laws because they BOTH know that the next time they invade your home, kidnap, rob & steal from you that you will be unarmed and they will be safe. The criminals and most parts of this current government are both power hungry and control freaks. Once you cannot rely on yourself for protection you have become a slave. A father that cannot protect his family is a slave. Slaves were not allowed to own guns because gun would guarantee them freedom. Do the math people!

There were no boxcutters. 9/11 was an inside job by the same people who want to take away the Second Amendment, one anti-gun law at a time and always with another anti-gun law to follow. May the co-conspirators be hunted down like Nazi war criminals speedily in our days.

I’ll assume he had an Iowa carry permit. I’ll also assume that as an airline pilot he’s a reasonably smart fellow. Smart people licensed to carry know that you cannot carry (or even possess) a pistol in New York City without a license and that NYC DOES NOT ISSUE carry permits to non-residents. He took a chance and lost. He will do jail time. Bloomturd will press hard for it.

This is our right that was taken away by an abuse of power. Letting this man go to jail without fighting for him is accepting this abuse of power. If nothing else join the Second Amendment Foundation and let them do the fighting with your support.

We all have the right to Keep and bear arms. And that means any dang place we choose. Sure, the bad guys will bring guns on board as well. But there is more of us than them. The government bureaucrats aren’t interested in your safety. They want to make us compliant subjects so they can do whatever they want. Time to stand up against the fascists in our government.

Becareful speaking the truth like this. Big sis will come get your for your “Security Screening.”: I mean these are obviously lies the TSA gropings, err i mean enhanced pat downs, are working. Its obvious they work after all we have caught how many terrorists before they got on the plane? Ohh we missed all 3 and they only failed because of their own ineptness? Well I am sure that was because the TSA does so well.

The pilot has a 2nd Amendment Right to carry regardless of what the law states. To be able to distinguish and argue what makes a law Unconstitutional is a responsibility held only by truly Free Americans who cringe at those who suffer from mindless obedience syndrome. Gun laws were created with only one intention, creating an environment where The People would have to rely on government agencies to keep them safe. Criminals & the GOVERNMENT absolutely LOVE gun laws because they BOTH know that the next time they invade your home, kidnap, rob & steal from you that you will be unarmed and they will be safe. The criminals and most parts of this current government are both power hungry and control freaks. Once you cannot rely on yourself for protection you have become a slave. A father that cannot protect his family is a slave. Slaves were not allowed to own guns because gun would guarantee them freedom. Do the math people!

And further to my point, for you NY libs. Does anyone say we should outlaw box cutters? I mean, that’s what the terrorists used, right? Box cutters kill!! No, no they don’t, and neither do guns. Some people use them to kill, and some people use them to keep from being killed, or to protect others. Classic example of liberal stupidity. You liberals are ok with thousands dying, just so long as no one has a gun, and stinking terrorist can then have the upperhand with little tiny knives. Good thinking. Good logic. I guess it goes like this. “I’d rather die, and let my family die at the hands of terrorists or criminals than to allow my fellow law abiding citizens protect themselves and me”. Yep, that makes sense.

So let me get this straight… He’s a pilot who flies a multi million dollar aircraft… transporting a couple of hundred people… and he is trusted not to put all of this in a nose dive… but he can’t be trusted with a pistol? Go figure… just more New York stupidity…

@James – I totally agree. I think his airplane license holds more weight than a pistol. He can crash the plane, or crash the plane into something big.
@MCK – for all you know- he’ll put the plane in a nosedive and jump out of the plane with a chute.. don’t be so ignorant

And you don’t think he would be killed shooting people 35000 feet in the air? After 9/11, people are not going to let that happen again.

Also, do you really have to get personal? Calling someone (a particular person) stupid is unbecoming. Doing that causes you to lose the argument automatically because it looks like you do not have anything but name calling to back your assertions.

If he wants to kill somebody that is irrelevant, what is relevant is if will he kill all. He can kill his co-pilot quietly at home! What that gun could kill is another terrorist that the TSA has NEVER EVER, EVEN ONCE found! Please give a gun to the pilot, co-pilot, engineer etc on my next flight. I want every pilot to have a gun. If he kills a co-pilot he WILL be caught.

Who is stupid? Genius? James Hodges and Robert Paulson are the geniuses.

Snooze. I’d say a pilot in charge of flying 200+ people in a multi-million aircraft is more than qualified to carry on board. Figures NY would file criminal possession of weapons charges to make another example.

sure the pilots union will find a way to get him out of the situation..pilots seem to think they are not subject to the same rule and regulations of us “mere mortals”..unless he is part of the air marshalls progrm, he should not be allowed to be “packing heat” as they say..

Susan, Jet Blue pilots aren’t unionized. You are probably also oblivious to the fact that many of the advances in air safety have come from programs advanced by the largest pilots union- ALPA. You’re welcome.

Odds are this guy is ex-military and is very familiar with weapons. To not allow him to carry because you are “afraid” is foolishness. If he is not ex-military then he should be licensed to carry a weapon on board and aircraft AUTOMATICALLY. He is at the helm of a multi-million dollar aircraft and you are “afraid” he might do something wrong with a gun. I see logic has no place in your head.